Fanfics from Tumblr: Mario
by EchoEternal
Summary: Looking to read some quirky one-shots based on your favorite plumber and his friends? Come check what Tumblr users have requested me to write here!
1. Foreward

Hello there, FFN readers!

So, I post a lot of work here, but I sometimes get requests to post on Tumblr as well. As such, I've decided to share these posts on here too!

The following chapters are actually posts based on works I wrote for folks on Tumblr, who I will keep anonymous for the posts on here.

But, before you go any further...

 **Please Note:** These are just one-shots. While I may take some stories places, I currently have no intentions to work on these further. I'm already writing a lot of work on here, so that'll be it for me. Oh, and…

 **Fair Warning:** Some of these works will include gay pairings. I will include additional warnings above each post, but in case I forget, you will have an early alert here. If you're not ok with that, don't read the work.

Additionally, some of these may be based on the fanfics that I currently write on ; however, there will not be any spoilers for those fanfics, nor are readers required to read them to understand anything. If so, I will include a description about it above the chapter.

One final bit: I will mark this as a completed work, since I'm not looking to update each individual piece. HOWEVER! There will be additional stories that are posted as I find or receive more requests from Tumblr. So, while this work will be considered completed, there are still more posts that may appear, so stay tuned for additional updates.

Well, I think that's everything. Any questions, feel free to message me! Now, read ahead to read some one-shot posts!


	2. Role Swaps

**Someone asked:** Mario AU: Princess Peach as the villain (Queen Peach?), Mario in trouble, and Bowser as the hero

 **Echo:** Ooh, this is a good one! Honestly, I have had this cross my mind before, but never really wrote anything down for it.

So thanks! It"s time to change that here and now! There will be two variations on this ask: the first will be the more traditional Mario story, where the characters have swapped roles, while the second will keep their usual roles, but with a different take on the Mario story. Enjoy!

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 **Warning:** This does include implications of a gay relationship between Bowser and Mario, since they're taking on Mario and Peach's relationship. (And it's totally shippable.) If you're not into that, please skip this chapter and move onto the next.

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 ** _Variation 1 (Roles Shifted)_**

In the Mushroom Kingdom, a large Koopa made his way to the castle. Several Toads and smaller Koopas gawked at him, while others waved excitedly. He grinned and waved back as he entered the castle.

Strolling through, he wandered into the red and blue main halls and walked into the golden throne room. A man in a green uniform and dark blue cape turned and smiled at the Koopa.

"Hello, Bowser!"

"Hi there, Prince Luigi!" Bowser warmly greeted. "Hope you"re well, today."

"Yep, I"m doing pretty well," laughed Luigi. "But let"s get serious, you"re looking for my brother."

Lightly, Bowser blushed. "W-Well, I am, but he can wait—"

"Oh, don"t try being modest. He"s out in the back."

"Great. Thank you, Luigi!"

Hurriedly, Bowser made his way to the back of the Prince"s Castle and out into the gardens. Prince Mario stood by the fountain, his bright blue cape draped over his red uniform. At the stomping footsteps behind him, he whirled around and smiled as Bowser approached him.

"Ah, hello Bowser." The Koopa beamed at the elder prince. "It's lovely to see you today, and I'm glad you've come over to visit."

"Sure thing!" Bowser patted his chest with a fist. "I'm here whenever you need me, Prince Mario!"

"That is sweet of you to say." Mario stepped closer to Bowser and reached up to brush the Koopa's red hair. "This is always so messy."

"Guess it gives me an excuse to have you fix it," murmured Bowser as his cheeks flared up. Mario blushed as well, letting his hand drop to Bowser's arm. He rubbed it a bit and placed his hand over Bowser's claw before pulling away.

"How is your family?" Bowser jumped a bit at the question.

"Oh, they're…well, fine, thanks." The large Koopa folded his arms. "Kamek's still practicing magic spells and Junior still thinks he can chase after his papa."

Mario chuckled. "You should consider taking him on adventures with you; he might just learn something new." He paused before adding, "Provided that it's a safe journey, of course."

"Sure, I'm planning on it. Junior just keeps trying to tag along when he shouldn't." Bowser sighed. "Sometimes, I think he has too much energy, even for me."

"Sounds believable." Mario laughed while Bowser rolled his eyes. Stopping, the prince sighed. "I might like a son, someday. Or a daughter, one might be nice. Maybe both."

"You'll need to find yourself a princess!"

"Yes, maybe." Mario gazed into Bowser"s fiery red eyes with his deep blue ones. "But I suppose there are other ways to have children."

Clawing at the back of his head, Bowser"s face grew flushed again. "Ah, well, that's true. You could adopt a child or…marry someone who…has kids."

"Those are the options." Prince Mario picked at his mustache and blushed a bit as well. "Anyway, why don't we take a minute to organize the next party that I—"

Abruptly, the ground beneath them rumbled. Mario fell back slightly and Bowser hurried over to catch him. They glanced at one another and then gazed skyward to find a large, pink airship flying toward them. It fired cannonballs from the boat above, raining down and crashing against the land around the castle.

"Mama mia," murmured Mario. "It's her again."

Bowser pushed Mario behind him and defensively guarded him as the assault continued. They listened to panicked Toads and Koopas run out, shouting for help. Before either one could move, they heard a buzzing noise draw closer.

Glaring upward, the two watched as a woman in a dark purple and pink dress with messy blonde hair descended down from the sky. Above her was a parasol-like propeller, which flipped around and became a stage for her to stand on, while it continued to float in the air.

"Queen Peach!" Mario thundered. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha! What else could be the meaning, Prince Mario?" She grinned evilly down at the prince and the Koopa. "I"m here to kidnap you and take control of your kingdom!"

Peach snapped her fingers and several Goombas swarmed from around the garden, surrounding Bowser and Mario.

"Traitors!" Prince Mario cried out.

"Please, like you would have ever given them fair treatment." Queen Peach clapped her hands and the Goombas jumped to snatch Mario, only to be punched away by Bowser. "Ugh! Bowser! You rotten Koopa freak, always getting in the way of my plans. But not anymore!"

The wicked queen pulled out a purple and silver scepter, which fired a dark spell out of it. Three pink rings wrapped around Bowser and locked him into place.

"No!"

Mario turned to help Bowser, but two more rings wrapped around him. Several Goombas surrounded the two, knocking Bowser away and bouncing Mario on top of their heads, pushing him onto Peach"s Parasol Platform.

"Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha! Prince Mario is mine!"

"Not so fast, Peach!"

Prince Luigi hurried out to the gardens, only to get knocked on the head by a brown Toad with dark robes around his body. Peach yawned as Bowser growled in frustration, struggling to break free from the bindings.

"Good work, Toadsworth." Peach stretched. "You prove to be the greatest traitor these kingdoms have ever known."

"Of course, my lady." The elderly Toad bowed. "Shall we take this one as well?"

"Hmm…I suppose it's better to kidnap both princes, instead of just the heir." Queen Peach clapped her hands and the Goombas threw Luigi onto the stage beside her.

"Luigi, no!" Mario tried to stand, but the magic bindings knocked him over. "You'll never get away with this, Peach!"

"Ha! That's what you think, little prince! But from where I stand, I've already won!" She lowered herself to the elder prince"s face as her icy blue eyes met his darker pair. "Perhaps…you"ll consider marrying me? You won"t be in charge, but it"s certainly better than rotting in the dungeons."

"Never! Not to a wicked woman like you!" Mario snapped. "You're practically a monster!"

"So claims the prince who practically dates an actual monster." Peach jabbed a thumb at Bowser, who rolled around to knock attacking Goombas away from him. "All right, that"s enough, troops! We have the princes! Now, let"s get this kidnapping started!"

She laughed viciously as her traitor Toad jumped aboard the platform beside her, which slowly flew back to her airship. The Goombas poured away from the castle and scurried off as the magic bindings broke off from Bowser.

"Bowser! Help!" Mario yelled as the Parasol Platform disappeared into the airship, which took off shortly after.

Growling, Bowser hurried from the castle to chase after Peach"s airship. Just as he reached the front gates, Kamek flew by on his broom, with Junior riding behind him.

"Papa, what happened?" The younger Koopa questioned.

"That wicked Queen Peach kidnapped the Mario brothers!" Bowser snarled. "We have to go after her!"

"Right. I'll scout ahead and see if I can procure items for you." Kamek began to fly off, but Junior jumped down.

"I'm coming with you, Papa!"

"Junior, it's too dangerous!"

"Aw, come on!"

"No, you need to stay here and help everyone at the castle!"

Annoyed, Junior pouted as Bowser charged off after Kamek. The little Koopa waited and watched a few Toads and Koopas brush themselves off, shaken, but not heavily harmed from the attack.

"Ah, they're fine." Junior pounded his fist into his hand. "You're not doing this alone, Papa!"

Quickly, the child raced after his father, off into the plains of the first area to free from the evil Queen Peach's forces.


	3. Dark Secrets

**Echo:** Ok, here's the second part of the Mario-Bowser-Peach role exchange! The last story had them literally switch roles, whereas this one will have them maintain their known roles.

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 ** _Variation 2 (Roles Remain)_**

Nervously, Mario and Luigi stepped up to Peach's Castle as dark clouds loomed over it. They glanced at one another nervously before walking inside. Just as the large red doors were about to close, a clawed hand thrust between the gap and held the doors open.

"Bowser!"

The Koopa King surged through the doors, following the brothers inside of the castle. He scowled down at the two, who hung their heads in response.

"Years. It took you two _years_ to finally understand—"

"Peach still isn't evil, Bowser." Mario lifted his head. "The royal decrees were in place before her time. She's a good princess."

"Oh, and I'm still the big, bad Bowser?" He growled at Mario, who folded his arms. "Face it, plumber; your goody two-shoes princess isn't as sweet as you were lead to believe."

"All right, if you two are done tempering your old rivalry, can we please get on with this?" Luigi lifted his head and lowered his eyes at the other two, who turned to him and nodded. "Good. Let's go."

Together, the trio marched forward and made their way to Peach's throne room. All the while, they were unnerved by the severe lack of Toads in the halls, only noticing a pair whispering quietly to one another before noticing the three and disappearing down another corridor.

Finally reaching the throne room, the brothers and the king exchanged expressions before making their way inside. Oddly, the golden room was unusually dark, left unlit for the most part. The three walked forward, making their way to the only visible light: a small one behind Peach's throne, with the princess herself atop it.

She watched as they approached her, severely stoic in spite of being outnumbered. Stopping a little before her throne, Mario and Luigi looked at one another again while Bowser snorted. Slowly, Peach stood up.

"One might consider it treason for her friends to bring forward her greatest enemy with no hints of restraining him." Peach folded her arms as she eyed Bowser, who grinned wickedly at her.

"Princess, we need to talk." Mario stepped forward. "It's…about the laws of your kingdom."

"You think you found something that I'm not aware of?"

"Peach, you can't be aware of it." Luigi shuddered as the princess lowered her eyes at him.

"He's right, Peach." Mario shook his head. "There are laws that were established before your rule that banned all sorts of races within the Mushroom Kingdom."

"Do you truly believe whatever lies Bowser has told you?" Peach scoffed. "Mario, I would expect better from you."

"See? She's trying to twist it around to her favor!" Bowser stomped his foot. "You're more of a liar than I ever dreamt of being!"

"Bowser, calm down." Mario gently touched the Koopa King's arm, getting the latter to release a breath and relax a little. The plumber nodded and turned back to Peach. "We've found and reviewed some documents from deep within the Mushroom Kingdom's archives. Peach…the rulers before you put into place discriminatory laws that made it impossible for a lot of species to live comfortably within the kingdom, and outright impossible to live anywhere near the castle, with death sentences for any one of them to be carried out should they do so."

Luigi pulled out a few papers and held them up. "These are copies of them. Some state that Koopas will never be allowed to establish a home within the Toad Town borders, another has execution orders for any Goombas that step beyond the castle walls, Lakitus are outright not allowed to walk on the ground, which is why they ride clouds these days…it's crazy. And they have official Mushroom Kingdom seals on them and everything."

"I see." Peach spun away from the three and stared across the dim throne room, staring towards a window of the darkened sky. "And…why do you come to me with this information?"

"Only a recognized member of the royal line can overturn these laws," explained Mario. "Bowser's technically not recognized as a royal ruler, so he can't. Although, he took in the other races and made a safe haven for them." Mario glanced back at Bowser, who flashed him a smirk. "Anyway, we were hoping you could…change these regulations against the others, and remake the kingdom a safe place for everyone to live."

"It's only fair," added Bowser, and he chuckled.

Quickly, Peach pivoted back toward them. "After all of the trouble that those menaces caused my kingdom…you expect me to allow them to live peacefully here?"

"Please, Peach." Mario shook his head. "We've spoken with them and most agree that they wouldn't have caused you any harm had they been able to live here peacefully."

"How could trust them so easily?"

"Oho, they didn't." Bowser scoffed. "First, they listened to you, for years, thinking that I was just an evil and nasty ruler. It took until recently for me to kidnap the Mario brothers and actually expose them to the truth. Even still, it took them until we discovered those documents for the two to finally listen to reason and understand my side of the story." He grinned as Peach settled her scowl on him. "So thanks, for keeping records that dated back decades of your rulers trying to domineer my people."

"You're welcome." She brushed back her hair and rolled a bit around her finger. "Will that be all, Mario?"

"N-No. Peach, you need to rewrite these decrees—"

"Need to? Oh, no, not at all, dear Mario." Peach clasped her hands together. "My kingdom will never have vicious and wild scum litter it so long as I draw breath, and they certainly won't be tainted by foolishness that Bowser spouts out."

"It's all fact, Princess!" Bowser snarled. "And if you don't change this stuff, then we'll go public with these documents. Fact it; you're done."

"On the contrary." Peach snapped her fingers and the lights flickered on, revealing numerous Toads lined around the room with ropes and spears at the ready. "I'm far from finished."

"P-Peach, what—?"

Quickly, several Toads lobbed spears at the trio's feet, forcing them to stay in place. Following up before any of them could react, more Toads hurried around the Mario brothers and tied them in tight ropes. Another pack did the same with Bowser as he spewed out a fireball, which missed them.

"Not the ropes, for him!" Peach shouted as the Toads attempted to bind Bowser who ripped free of the ropes. "Chains! I told you chains!"

Bowser roared. "You'll never get away with this one, Peach! Your days are already numbered!"

"Think again, Koopa King," sneered Peach. She clapped her hands as several Toads carried Mario and Luigi further away from Bowser, who struggled to chase after them, cut off by another series of Toads that barraged him. "If you want anyone to believe this nonsense, you'll need Mario and Luigi to help reveal the truth. Unfortunately for you, they'll be staying here, with me."

Mario squirmed against his and Luigi"s bindings, unable to break free. "Why Peach?"

"Because Mario, sometimes, you need to get your hands dirty to continue protecting those that you love." She snapped her fingers as more Toads rushed into the room, with Bowser spewing fire to burn the ones closest to him. "I'll not have my Toads endangered by the likes of vicious scoundrels that Bowser harbors. Stop him by any means necessary!"

"If you thought we were dumb enough to come here alone, think again!"

Letting out a louder and mighty roar, Bowser watched as Koopas and Goombas burst through the windows of Peach's throne room, crashing inside and combating the Toads that remained before them. Both armies fought against one another as Bowser threw off another squad of Toads, glaring at Peach.

"This blood feud ends here and now!" He growled as Peach stepped forward, taking a spear from one of the fallen Toads. "You and your predecessors have oppressed us for long enough! It's time we finally overthrow you once and for all!"

"And here I thought you liked me." Peach flipped her hair and eyed the Mario brothers, who squirmed harder against their bindings. "Perhaps I should end this even sooner—"

"Don't you dare touch them!" Bowser spat a fireball at Peach, who sidestepped it as the fire blasted into her throne, burning it down. "This is between us, as it always should have been!"

"As you wish, Koopa King."

"Bowser! Peach!"

Mario and Luigi watched in horror as Peach readied her spear while Bowser pounded his fists and let smoke billow from his nostrils. The two charged at each other as the carnage around them ensued.


	4. Lizard Mario

**Someone asked:** AU in which Mario is a lizard and Bowser is human

 **Echo:** That should prove interesting. I think. Let's find out!

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 **Warning:** It doesn't go the full length, but there is some gay subtext between Mario and Bowser.

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A red lizard-man raced toward a dark fortress, leaping over a turtle along the way. His red cap nearly flew off from his head and the lizard grabbed it as he came back down. Running to the castle, the lizard tugged up his blue shorts and tightened his brown shoes.

However, he skidded to a halt upon seeing a man stand before the stronghold. Before him stood a man in a dark green suit with long red hair. The man straightened his black tie against his yellow shirt, and then tugged on his studded wrist cuffs. The man grinned wickedly at the lizard-man before him.

"Bowser!"

"Bwahaha!" The man laughed. "If it isn't Mario, come to save the day and put a stop to my actions!"

"You've given the Lizard Kingdom enough grief, Bowser!" The lizard tightened his fist. "That ends now."

"Aw, right now? This isn't even my final fortress."

"Tough break."

Quickly, Mario rushed over to Bowser and jumped. The man pulled out a lighter and rolled away from the lizard's stomp. Grabbing a log, Bowser lit it on fire and threw it at Mario, who ducked as it flew overhead.

Following up on it, Bowser threw a punch as Mario rose up from the ground. It connected and Mario went back down. The man readied another punch, but this time, Mario used his tail to trip Bowser's legs, knocking him down to the ground. Before he could move, Mario leapt on top of Bowser.

"Slow it down," mocked Bowser. "This is our first fight of the week."

"And it will be the last!" Mario raised his hand.

"Honey, let's talk this through." Suddenly, Bowser overpowered Mario and threw him to the ground, climbing on top of him. "There, see? Wasn't so bad letting me in, was it?"

Struggling, Mario thrashed against Bowser's weight. "This isn't over!"

"Isn't it?" Bowser laughed. "You know, I could do whatever I wanted right here and now." Slowly, he leaned closer to Mario's face, breathing his warm breath against the lizard's nose. He grinned wickedly as Mario's eyes widened. "Let's use our imagination, shall we?" With a chuckle, he pressed his mouth against Mario's nose.

Swiftly, Mario kicked between Bowser's legs. The man cried out in pain and rolled off of the lizard, who jumped up and back down on Bowser's back.

"Give up yet?" Mario taunted.

"For…now." Recovering, Bowser threw Mario off of him. He snapped his fingers and a purple muscle car rolled over to him. Bowser jumped inside and laughed. "Catch you later, lizard lips!" The car sped off as his laughter continued into the distance.

Mario stood up and watched his enemy disappear from him. Slowly, he touched his nose and shivered. Sometimes, these battles would get a little too close to be comfortable…or between mere enemies. Shaking his head, he entered the fortress to raise the victory flag.


	5. Gender Changes

**Someone asked:** Bowser/Mario R63 AU?

 **Echo:** Hmm…I guess we'll call them Maria (like every other 63 Mario) and…well, I think Bowser still works. (If not, I don't know what would. Bowsette? Bowsa? Idk at all. Oh well!)

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 **Warning:** If you're not cool with girl on girl action, don't read Mario…or, Maria, and Bowser for this one.

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The castle doors burst open. Queen Bowser growled as Maria rushed into her throne room, ready for a fight.

"It's over, Bowser!" Maria jabbed a finger at the Koopa Queen. "The Mushroom Queendom has had enough of your terrorizing!"

"Bwahaha! Maria, you pesky plumber!" Bowser flipped her long red hair. "If you think that I'll give in that easily, you've got another thing coming!"

Cheeks puffed out, Bowser spat a fireball at Maria, who jumped over it. She charged across the red carpet and jumped at queen, bouncing off of her head.

Roaring, Bowser knocked Maria back and the plumber skid across the floor. Wiping her brown hair back under her hat, Maria rushed again, only to slide under another fireball.

Due to the slide, however, she slipped further across the floor and straight for Bowser's legs. Flailing, Maria kicked the queen's legs and caused her to fall over on top of the plumber.

"Get…off!" Maria snapped and pushed at Bowser.

"Haha, why would I do that?"

"Move, or I'll throw you off myself!"

"All right, all right, relax."

With a laugh, Koopa Queen slid her arms out and pushed herself up, but slipped on the carpet and crashed back down. Maria cried out in pain and threw her head back.

Groaning, Bowser picked her head up and stared at the plumber, now cap-less. She blinked and focused on her enemy's brown hair, long enough to go just past her ears. Mesmerized, the Koopa Queen brought her hand around to brush the hair back, also feeling Maria's softer skin.

Gasping, Maria jerked up and crashed into Bowser's chest. By instinct, the Koopa Queen threw her arms around the plumber to grab her, but accidentally pulled her closer. Maria squeaked at the firm grip from her nemesis, which felt quite…secure.

Abruptly, both flew back from one another, blushing furiously. Maria picked herself up and brushed herself off, staring at Bowser, who quickly turned away. Awkwardly, Maria tapped her hands together.

"Um…can I just…have Prince Peach back? …Please?"

"W-What?" Bowser blinked, but then shook her head. "No, I went through a lot of trouble to kidnap him!"

"So, do we have to fight?"

Grumbling, Bowser picked at her wrinkled carpet. She glanced at Maria and thought for a moment.

"Ok, I'm not in the mood anymore either, so…for a price, you can have your prince." Bowser folded her arms and scowled at Maria, who smiled.

"Great! Uh…how about we make sure to invite you to the next party or go-karting event? I'm…not sure which we're hosting first."

"Oh no," Bowser growled. "If I'm giving up this easily, I'm getting way better compensation than just a single invite."

"Fine, both."

"And…?"

"And…um…"

Grinning, Bowser walked over to Maria. "And you give me one more little thing, plumber."

"Uh…what?"

Staring at her deep blue eyes, Bowser smirked and closed the distance, pressing her lips against Maria's. Squealing, Maria started to back away, but hesitated, not wanting to ruin her chance at rescuing the prince.

The scaly lips were…oddly nicer feeling than she had expected, especially when coupled with the warm breath. Meanwhile, Bowser moaned from the smoothness of Maria's skin, a refreshing change. She scooped Maria's face into her own, slightly deepening the kiss.

Slowly, the two backed away from one another and breathed. Maria gazed into Bowser's fiery red eyes, as the Koopa Queen looked away again. Both continued to blush brightly.

"Y-You should…go grab your prince."

"R-Right."

Maria walked past Bowser and moved toward the dungeons. She turned back to find the queen watching her with a small smile on her face. Smiling back, Maria waved.

"Ah…say hello to your daughter from me?"

"She's supposed to hate you," deadpanned Bowser.

"Oh, right."

Shrugging and wincing, Maria backed away through the door. Bowser watched until she disappeared, unable not to smile. Quietly, the queen touched her lips and licked them. The invites would suffice for this time. Next time, however, she would negotiate for better exchanges.


	6. Kart Practice

**Someone** asked: I just had this incredibly cute mental image of Bowser and Mario on cars that are WAY too small for them and them like busting ass and laughing and having a great time. Then, one of them busts ass like hella hard and gets a terrible scrape out of it, and the other starts laughing at first but then is like "Holy shit, he's actually hurt." And comes over, checks on him, asks if he's alright and patches him up. He's like "Thanks." and smiles kinda genuine and it makes the other blush.

 **Echo:** That is cute! Let's see…can I make a semi-Mario Kart one-shot out of this?

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 **Warning:** It's kind of…sort of got hints of Bowser/Mario gay fluff in it. I mean, it doesn't have to be read that way, but…it also is, so yeah.

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One sunny afternoon outside of Princess Peach's Castle, the Mario Bros. were chattering with Toad, Yoshi, and Peach about the upcoming kart-racing tournament. Abruptly, a kart skidded along the road nearby and screeched as the five clutched their ears in pain.

"BWAHAHA!"

Groaning, the five gazed ahead to Bowser, who picked himself up from his small orange Pipe Frame and stomped over to the group.

"Oh, Bowser, please," pleaded Peach. "We're having the tournament in a few days, and we made sure to invite you this time. Can't you just wait until then, like everyone else?"

"Ha! What fun would that be, Princess?" Bowser grinned at her, to which Peach rolled her eyes and folded her arms. "Anyway, which of you runts wants to be my first victim? I'm looking to get some practice in right now!"

"I'll race you!"

Everyone quieted and stared at Toad, who cheerfully hopped forward to challenge Bowser.

"Y…You?" Bowser blinked. "You're just a meek mushroom. None of your kind challenges me."

"Technically, you're challenging us," corrected Toad. "And kart racing isn't the same as you trying to burn us! I can take you!"

"Toad," whispered Luigi. "If he does lose to you, which is likely, he'll fry you anyway."

"Um…n-never…Mario, you can handle this, right?" Toad shivered and glanced to the red clad plumber, who happily nodded. "Ok! You got lucky, Bowser! Mario will take you on today, but come tournament time, you'll be eating my dust too!"

With that, Toad quickly fled to hide behind Yoshi, who gently patted the little mushroom. Mario stepped forward, rolled his red Pipe Frame out next to Bowser's, and nodded.

"Wouldn't have it any other way." Bowser laughed and sat onto his kart. He looked far too large for it, as did Mario when he hopped into his seat. Nevertheless, they started their karts. "All right, we'll race on your track. Let's go, Mario!" He paused before roaring. "A-And get ready to get roasted, too!"

They sped off in their karts while the remaining four watched them race away. Luigi scratched his head in confusion while Peach turned to him.

"What is it, Luigi?"

"Come to think of it, if this is just a practice race that Bowser wanted, why didn't we just all go? We could use some test runs before the tournaments, right?"

The other three let their mouths fall open as they mentally scolded themselves for missing the opportunity.

Further along the road, already near Mario Circuit, Bowser and Mario kept a steady pace with one another. Entering the track and rolling to the starting line, Mario glanced at Bowser, who twisted around in his tiny kart and smirked.

"Thanks for coming out, Mario!" The plumber raised his eyebrows in confusion. "I'm looking forward to making you choke while I keep you behind me!" Mario gave Bowser a disgusted look as he scratched his head. "…What?!"

"Look, Bowser, can't we just…I don't know, race without trying to wreck each other?"

"Where's the fun in that?!" Bowser folded his arms. "It's not a good old kart race unless we're slamming Koopa Shells at each other."

"But then…you have to give me a few minutes to gather the item boxes." Mario sighed. "And then I have to do an inventory check, then figure out where their proper positions are, place them around the track, and—"

"FINE, no items!" Bowser slid back around and squeezed down into his kart, which creaked under his weight. "Buzz kill."

"Oh, and do you really want to do three whole laps?" Mario squished into his kart, readying to race. "Because I think one would be—"

"Yes, three!" Bowser punched his steering wheel. "You're taking all of the fun out of this!"

"Since when did you want to race for fun?"

"Since right now, ok?!" Bowser grumbled. "Right now's a good time to not be serious about this. I'm just looking for a practice run." He turned his head while Mario stared over to him. "I'm not always a complete jerk, you know! …Just most of the time."

They turned and watched the automatic countdown timer, which filled in for Lakitu during practices. The lights flashed green and both racers sped down the road.

Coming up on the first turn, both Mario and Bowser drifted into it and boosted off the end of it, pivoting into the next turn. A wider turn came up and they took a minute to go around it.

After the turn, Bowser hopped his kart around and drove backwards. He stuck his tongue out and waved at Mario, who burst out laughing.

The road twisted a bit as they went, and Mario decided to twist around his kart, running a circle around Bowser. They both laughed as the road narrowed and they straightened their karts out before entering a tunnel.

Once out of it, the pavement became a dirt road and the two raced along it until a wide turn came up. Bowser hopped his kart into a turn, but the whole thing crashed under his weight. He skidded across the road and slid out from his kart's seat, scraping his legs and tail as he rolled off.

Mario stopped his kart and spun around, laughing at the sight. His laughter slowed as he leaned on the steering wheel and waited for Bowser to get up with a roar, but the large Koopa just groaned along the side of the road.

"B…Bowser?" Mario forced himself from his kart and stood up. "Are you ok?"

"N-No."

Panicked, Mario hurried over as Bowser picked himself up a bit, rubbing his scratches. He yelped out and winced as Mario dug into his overalls.

"Hang on, I've dabbled into medical work."

"You what?"

The Koopa King watched as Mario pulled out disinfectant sprays and bandages from his overalls.

"Hold still a second." Bowser glared slightly at Mario while he reached over to his wounds. "Look, I need to check how bad they are, ok? I'm not trying to hurt you."

Nodding, Bowser relaxed as Mario gently checked on the scratches along Bowser's legs. A little red and sore, but nothing appeared to be broken. He then moved along to Bowser's tail, and the Koopa shuddered at Mario's touch. Again, no major damage, but it was pretty sore from the crash.

"Hang on, this will sting a bit."

Mario used the spray while Bowser winced and clenched his teeth. His wounds bubbled a bit as Mario pulled out an unused cloth to dab them down a bit. He then unraveled the bandages and carefully wrapped them around each spot that Bowser had torn open. He tightened the wrappings and dusted the Koopa off a bit before helping him up from the road.

Glancing down, Bowser inspected himself and moved around to check everything. "Huh. You weren't kidding." He chuckled and nodded. "Thanks, Doctor Mario!"

The plumber smirked as he put his supplies away. He waited for a biting insult to follow up on the gratitude, but nothing came. Instead, Bowser brightly smiled and pat Mario on the back, causing the plumber to blush.

"You know, aside from completely destroying my kart and getting nailed, this was actually pretty fun."

"Y-Yeah, it was."

They stood quietly as they gazed at one another, unsure of what to do next.

"Uh…maybe we could do this again, sometime?" Bowser's cheeks flared up. "Just a race, just…us." He clawed through his hair and tried to look everywhere aside from Mario.

"Sure, that…would be fun." Mario focused on fixing his cap, but caught Bowser's eyes as they stared at one another. "Of course, we should probably, um, get new karts for the upcoming Grand Prix."

"Right, yeah."

They turned and stared at Mario's kart, which was still in one piece. Bowser sighed and ran his claw through his hair again.

"You going to get going?" Mario glanced up at him, concerned, while Bowser snorted. "It's fine, I can walk."

"Well…I'm not feeling particularly safe about these karts anymore. Maybe we can get the Pipe Frame line remodeled." Mario shrugged. "And…I could use a walk myself."

"Great!" Bowser grinned to Mario's smile, but coughed as he turned away a bit. "If you want, that is. No big deal." Still, he glanced back down to the plumber. "Um…you, uh, need me with you? I mean, not need, but uh…we could, you know."

"Walk together?"

"Yeah! …Uh, yeah."

"Ok, let's go." They started walking along the track, back to the finish line. "And maybe you can help me pick out the new karts that we should use."

"Sure! Maybe something that can carry the weight of two racers."

The two discussed the matter as they walked the length of the track together, certainly in no hurry to leave, even as the sun began to set.


End file.
